ConcernedApe has announced that the long-awaited multiplayer update for Stardew Valley arrives on Switch this week. Version 1.3 will be live on December 12.

When playing with others, Stardew Valley will support online voice chat as well as a new chat box feature that has colored text and close to 200 custom emojis. It’s also possible for 2-4 Switch consoles to connect via local wireless and play together over a short distance without the need for a Nintendo Switch Online account.

Here’s the full news update from Chucklefish:

Hi Everyone,

I’m happy to announce that the 1.3 Multiplayer Update will be coming to Nintendo Switch this week,

on Wednesday the 12th of December.

It will be available across the North American, European, and Japanese Nintendo eShop regions.

A big thanks goes out to Tom Coxon from Chucklefish, who developed the multiplayer netcode which made this update possible. Also, a big thanks to Sickhead Games for porting it to Nintendo Switch!

I know that many of you have been looking forward to this update, so here’s a quick reminder of what you can expect:

Support for up to 4-player online co-op.
You can invite 1-3 friends to join you in the valley, either starting from scratch or diving in from an existing single player save. Each player will have their own Cabin on the farm, and you’ll be able to work together to achieve common goals such as farming, mining, fishing, foraging and festival participation!

The state of the Stardew Valley game world, including the main storyline, is shared between all players on the farm, as well as the pool of money you accumulate. However, each player will have their own private inventories, skills, achievements, collections, individual relationships, quests, and crafting/cooking recipes. As more hands are better than one, you may wish to change the difficulty level of your collective farm, which you can achieve by scaling the profit margins.In terms of marriage, players can choose to woo the eligible folks of Pelican Town, or craft a wedding ring to propose to a fellow player. If the other player accepts the ring, the couple becomes engaged!

Nintendo Switch features:

On Nintendo Switch you’ll be able to communicate with others on your farm using the Switch online voice chat or the new chat box feature with colored text and nearly 200 custom Stardew Valley emojis.

You can also play together via local communications play, meaning that 2-4 switch consoles can connect & play together over a short distance without the need for a Nintendo Switch Online account.

Single Player Content:

While the new 1.3 single player content has now been available on PC for a little while now, I’ll keep things vague to avoid spoilers for anyone who hasn’t come across them yet.

For 3 days in Winter you’ll be able to visit a traveling festival called the Night Market, which will visit Pelican Town. Here farmers can come and go as they please to purchase unique items, enjoy live entertainment and more!

There are now new character events to encounter, including some secret events triggered by certain conditions… Some of these even grant you permanent bonuses.

In Winter, farmers may encounter a strange event which activates a new ‘secret’ type of collection, leading to a new adventure and greater knowledge…

Your horse can now wear hats and Signs are now craftable items, available to you from the beginning of the game.

Much more to be discovered!

After the Switch update has launched, I’ll have more to share with you very soon…